Monday

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is trying to create consumer demand for Asian carp in an effort to rid the state’s waterways of them.

Teaming up with Feeding Illinois (formerly the Illinois Food Bank Association) and a Louisiana-based chef, DNR has hosted two Target Hunger Now! events based on the Asian carp. Target Hunger Now! is an DNR-managed program that distributes food to charities across Illinois. The most recent event was held Friday at the South Side Mission in Peoria.

“Protein is one of the most sought after and expensive types of food to buy. We have an abundant source of that in Illinois,” said agency spokesman Chris McCloud, referring to the carp.

While the program is geared toward people in need, McCloud said its goal is much larger.

“By bringing this out to the public, and by enlisting someone who can prepare, we hope a demand is created and give an incentive to commercial fishermen to get the fish out of the river,” McCloud said.

The Asian carp is considered an invasive species by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. McCloud described the fish as being “voracious eaters” of plankton.

“Those microscopic organisms are the basic blocks of the food source, and they compete with our native species for the food,” McCloud said.

Because the Asian carp feeds on plankton and not other fish, it is much cleaner than native carp, McCloud said.

But the DNR’s initiative has two major obstacles. The first is an image problem. In the U.S., McCloud said, carp isn’t a very popular food choice.

Another problem is the fish itself — the Asian carp has a lot of bones.

“Perhaps one of the reasons why it’s popular in Asian and European markets but not the United States (is) people overseas are used to eating the bones,” McCloud said.

Philippe Parola, a chef based in Baton Rouge, La., who showcases how Asian carp can be prepared for DNR’s programs, said the image of this fish needs to be changed “if we want to win this war.”

However, Parola said, Americans have become lazy eaters.

“We don’t respect flavor. We just grab what is convenient,” Parola said. Consumers also have become spoiled by chefs taking the bones out of fish.